POST /users distinctive.
The three endpoints
That’s the entire User write surface: one upsert endpoint that handles both create and update. There’s no separate
PUT /users/{id} for updates.
The User resource
List shape (UserResource)
GET /users returns an array of UserResource objects — the abbreviated profile fields suitable for list display and filtering:
Detail shape (UserDetailResource)
GET /users/{id} returns a UserDetailResource — a superset of UserResource plus two additional fields:
The
UserDetailResource is what you get when you have a specific User and want the full picture. The UserResource is what you get when iterating through many Users for filtering or display.
⚠️ Spec gap: The OpenAPI spec’s
UserDetailResource formally documents only participations and profile_field_values (audit #50 confirms the schema is sparse). In practice, the live API likely returns the base UserResource fields alongside these — making UserDetailResource a true superset, not a replacement. Confirm against actual responses for production-critical paths.Membership concepts
Three status fields capture the User’s relationship to the customer’s organization:Listing users
cURL
Available filters
All filters use snake_case. The
*_like filters are case-insensitive substring matches. The *_before / *_after filters work on the corresponding timestamp fields.
Common list patterns
Recently active users:JavaScript
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email_like is a substring match, so a search for bruce@wayne.example might match bruce@wayne.example.com if such an address exists. Confirm with strict equality after the API call.
Fetching a single user
cURL
UserDetailResource wrapped in data:
Participations
Theparticipations field on UserDetailResource is an array of the User’s participation records:
Profile field values
Theprofile_field_values field captures the User’s responses to custom profile fields configured in the customer’s VOMO account:
field_id (stable identifier), field_label (the human-readable name set in the admin UI), and value (the User’s response).
For partner integrations that need to surface or filter on custom data, this is the access path. Look up by field_label for readability or by field_id for stability.
Creating and updating users (the upsert)
POST /users is unusual — it creates OR updates a User, with the behavior determined by whether the submitted email already exists.
How matching works
The match is on
email. There’s no other way to identify the User for an update — no separate PUT /users/{id} exists.
⚠️ Spec gap (audit #47): The
operationId is createUser but the endpoint is functionally an upsert. The spec correctly documents both 200 (updated) and 201 (created) response codes, but the operation name doesn’t reflect the upsert behavior. Future spec revisions may rename this to upsertUser and/or split into separate create and update endpoints.The request
Detecting create vs. update
The response status code distinguishes the two cases:JavaScript
Request body fields
Required fields for an upsert (typically — confirm against live API for the exact set):
Optional fields:
Validation errors
If the request body fails validation (missing required fields, invalid email format, etc.), the API returns422 Unprocessable Entity with a structured error response. See Error Handling: 422 Validation Error.
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Common workflows
Sync from an external system
For partner integrations syncing volunteer records from an external CRM or HR system:JavaScript
Bulk import
For one-time imports of volunteer rosters, throttle to stay within rate limits:JavaScript
Find or create
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Calculate volunteer hours
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parseFloat(p.hours) rather than treating it as an integer — see the audit-flagged type issue.
What can’t be done via the API
For most of these, the customer’s admin team handles the action through the VOMO UI. See Understand Write Limitations for the broader picture.
ID and matching considerations
A few practical patterns for partner integrations:Email is the matching key
Volunteer matches Users by email for upsert. Implications:- Email changes break matching. If a User changes their email in your external system, a subsequent upsert will create a new VOMO User rather than update the existing one. Track email history in your integration to handle this case.
- Email case is normalized. Searches and matches are case-insensitive. Submit emails in any case; the API handles it.
- Email is treated as the canonical identifier. Two records with the same email are considered the same person — there’s no way to have two Users with the same email.
Map between systems by both ID and email
For partner integrations that sync Users across systems, maintain a mapping table:JavaScript
When IDs are unknown
If your integration needs to find a User but doesn’t have a VOMO ID:
For programmatic flows where ambiguity is unacceptable, fall back to a surfaced-for-human-review path rather than guessing.
A reference user client
A minimal, well-organized User client:JavaScript
Where to go next
Projects and Project Dates
The volunteer opportunities Users participate in.
The Volunteer Data Model
The full data model context — how Users relate to other resources.
List Users with Filters
The workflow walkthrough for filtered User reads.
Create or Update a User
The upsert workflow in workflow-page depth.